


a long way to fall

by SailorChibi



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Age Play, Baby Tony, Civil War Team Iron Man, Crying, Daddy Phil Coulson - Freeform, Diapers, Gen, Identity Reveal, Infantilism, No One Knows Tony Stark Is Iron Man, Not Steve Rogers Friendly, Panic Attacks, Phil Coulson lives, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Protective Phil Coulson, Secret Identity, Tony Stark Gets a Hug, Tony Stark Has Secrets, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, alternate universe - littles are known, bottles, ignores infinity war, little Tony, non sexual age play, non sexual infantilism, not team Cap friendly, phil coulson is the best daddy ever, starting after the airport and leading up to and including siberia, takes place during civil war, thumb sucking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2018-11-22
Packaged: 2019-08-16 19:06:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16501031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorChibi/pseuds/SailorChibi
Summary: The world knows that Tony Stark is a Little. The world doesn't know that Iron Man is Tony Stark. Only a select few people, like Tony's daddy, Pepper and Rhodey, know that.Steve Rogers finds out at the worst possible moment: when he's about to bring the shield down on the arc reactor in Siberia.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I made a post on tumblr about a world where Tony was a Little and no one knew he was Iron Man. I said it could go one of two ways and promptly got commissioned for both ways. This is the salty, spiteful way.

The halls were full of people, and they were all trying to talk to Tony. Rhodey was gone; Tony - or rather, Iron Man, since he couldn't remove the armor - had ridden in the ambulance along with him, but no sooner had they arrived at the airport than Rhodey was whisked away into the operating room. Hospital security had stopped Tony from following and instead ushered him into a small, empty room to wait.

He didn't know how long he'd been there for. But it was long enough that the blood, sweat and tears had dried on his skin. He couldn't stop shaking, and he was pathetically glad that his identity was secret – no one needed to see Tony Stark having a breakdown. That shit would be all over the media faster than he could contain it. Everyone knew that Iron Man guarded his identity zealously, which meant that none of the nurses tried to make him come out of the armor. He wasn’t sure he had the energy to deny them at the moment.

No one was telling him about Rhodey, not that Tony could pull himself together long enough to really ask. They asked him questions when he first arrived, trying to find out details about what happened, but shortly left him alone. It was just as well: his brain could barely process English at the moment, much less trying to speak German, and FRIDAY's attempts to translate just made him want to cry.

He closed his eyes, seeing Rhodey's fall for the hundredth time. In those few moments, it seemed to take Rhodey forever to hit the ground. Yet, Tony hadn't been able to reach him. He kept replaying the instant Rhodey hit the ground. The crater he’d made because he’d hit with such force. Landing beside him and prying off the helmet, only to see that Rhodey was unconscious.

"Iron Man?"

Tony startled at the familiar voice, jerking upright. "C-Coulson?" he whispered, shocked. "What are you doing here?"

Phil Coulson looked as exhausted as Tony felt, but he still managed to smile as he pressed a tiny white button against the door. It may have looked relatively innocuous, but Tony knew exactly what that button did: it would short out any monitoring devices while simultaneously creating a soundproof barrier to prevent anyone from eavesdropping. It was one of Tony's own creations.

"Vision contacted me and told me what happened. He knew you would need me," Coulson said simply. “I borrowed the Starkjet and got here as fast as I could."

"You shouldn't - what if someone saw you?" Tony said blankly. Coulson had been avoiding the public eye for years now, maintaining that it was safer to let people think he was dead. It meant he could more easily move around behind the scenes of SHIELD.

Coulson smiled. "I used a holographic mask on my way here and only took it off when I came in in the room." He moved closer, hands cupping the Iron Man helmet. "Come on out, baby boy."

The tenuous hold that Tony had maintained on his sanity finally cracked. He didn't know if he gave the order, or if Coulson did, or maybe FRIDAY decided all on her own that it was time he emerge from the armor. All Tony knew was that the armor opened and Coulson gently pulled him out of it and into a hug. Tony collapsed into it, pressing his hands over his face and breaking down into tears.

"R-Rhodey..." Tony sobbed.

"Shh, I know," Coulson murmured, rocking him back and forth. "I know. FRIDAY sent me the footage. I'm so sorry, sweetheart." He couldn’t even say that Rhodey would be okay. Both of them knew that might end up being false. The armor was good protection, but that only went so far. 

Tony just cried until he couldn't cry anymore. He was too exhausted. His brain was overloaded and all he wanted to do was curl in Coulson's arms and hide away from the world. 

But he couldn't. There was more at stake than just himself. Rogers and Barnes needed to be stopped, or at the very least needed to be brought to heel. Tony was still the best person to do that in spite of everything. Too many people had been hurt because Rogers was trying to play hero and protect Barnes. Rhodey was just one of many. He couldn't let there be more if he could do something to stop it.

"I-I h-have... have to -"

"You're not doing anything but coming back to the hotel with me," Coulson said firmly. "That's not negotiable right now."

"But -"

"You can catch up to them tomorow. Right now, you're injured and tired and way too close to your headspace to help anyone."

Tony opened his mouth to continue protesting and then gave up. What was the point? The stern look on Coulson’s face told him that this was a fight he wasn’t going to win right now. And frankly, he didn't really want to go. His daddy's arms were warm and safe, and, now that the adrenaline was wearing off, his whole body was starting to ache – especially his left arm.

“Okay,” Tony said softly. “But I should – Rhodey, I should –”

“You can’t help him right now. He’s going to be in surgery for several more hours, and even once that’s done they’re not sure if he’ll be permitted visitors right away,” Coulson murmured. “They need to stabilize him before we can arrange to have him transported back to the U.S, so he’ll most likely be kept sedated for several days.”

That made sense, even if Tony didn’t like it. Still, he had to ask: “He won’t wake up alone?”

“No, baby. I promise. Now, I need you to get back into the armor for me so we can leave. Can you do that?” Coulson asked. Tony hesitated slightly, then nodded. He didn’t want to, but he knew that the rumor mill would go insane if Tony Stark and an unfamiliar man walked out of a windowless room that said unfamiliar man and Iron Man had been alone in.

He reluctantly pulled out of Coulson’s arms. At some point, they’d sunk to the floor. He stood on legs that wobbled, leaning heavily on Coulson for support. Coulson guided him over to the armor and turned him around, gently pushing Tony back. The armor closed securely around him. Tony felt a jolt of panic when he lost sight of his daddy; he caught his breath, trembling, until the HUD activated.

“FRIDAY, I need you to take control of the armor,” Coulson said.

“I can do it,” Tony mumbled.

“I’m sure you could, but I want FRIDAY to.” Coulson took a step back, and Tony felt the armor shift to follow. It was always a little weird for the armor to move when he hadn’t told it to, but he trusted Coulson and FRIDAY.

Coulson reached down for what, to anyone else, would have looked like a form-fitting, seamless mask. He pulled it on and muttered something. The mask rippled and then changed, forming the features of a man much younger than Coulson. Only then did Coulson remove the button from the door, tucking it into his pocket, and open the door. He stepped out and the armor followed.

A nurse approached and asked a series of questions. Coulson answered her in flawless German, gesturing to Iron Man as he spoke. They conversed for a moment or two before the nurse nodded and walked away. Following her, Tony realized that Maria Hill was standing at the end of the hall. Hill inclined her head in their direction, and Tony wondered, for a dazed moment, what she was doing here.

“She came with me. I said I would handle Iron Man if she took over securing the War Machine armor,” Coulson whispered, putting a hand on the armor’s shoulder. Tony wished he could feel the heat of Coulson’s grip through the armor, but of course that was impossible.

That made sense, once he’d wrapped his head around what Coulson was saying. Hill was working partially for Tony Stark and partially for the new SHIELD; no one knew that those two things were one and the same, since very few people knew Tony and Coulson were as close as they were. She, Pepper, and Happy were the only people Tony would’ve trusted with the War Machine armor while Rhodey was out of commission, but it wouldn’t have made sense for Pepper and Happy to have come. Hill would make sure every last scrap of the armor was found, packaged and securely returned to the compound.

No one else stopped them until they got down to the first floor. Tony didn’t know what he wasn’t expecting it. He’d lived in the spotlight all his life; he knew what the press was like, and of course the fight at the airport had made it out. But walking out the doors of the hospital only to be besieged by flashing lights and shouting voices was still enough to make him freeze.

Luckily, FRIDAY was operating the armor and so Tony’s panicked whimper never became audible. The armor smoothly kept moving, never faltering: it picked Coulson up in its arms bridal-style and took off, scattering a crowd of journalists. Coulson seemed perfectly comfortable in the armor’s arms, pulling out his phone and typing out something. Tony saw an address flicker across the HUD too fast for him to read. FRIDAY changed direction, heading north-west.

“It’s okay,” Coulson murmured, the words meant for Tony. “I have a room ready for us. Trusted SHIELD personnel will be standing guard, so no journalists will be able to get in. I had someone I personally trust sweep the room to make sure there was nothing to worry about. Just hold it together for me, Tony, okay?”

“I’m fine,” Tony said, which was a total lie and they both knew it.

FRIDAY alighted on a balcony and strode inside. Tony’s eyes wandered around the room as the armor set Coulson down. The penthouse bedroom was perfectly nice and spacious, with a large bed. What had to be Coulson’s luggage was already sitting at the end of the bed. Coulson shut the balcony door, pulled the drapes across, and pressed the button the doors. As the barrier went up, he disappeared out the door – presumably to do the same to the rest of the rooms.

“FRI, let me out,” Tony said. It wasn’t a command, but it was as close to it as he could manage when he was trembling from head to toe and thought he might vomit. The armor opened again and he spilled out; with no one to catch him, he sprawled across the floor. Coulson rushed back into the room.

“Tony!” he cried.

“I’m – it’s…” Tony trailed off, struggling to sit up. Coulson knelt beside him and braced an arm around his shoulders, gently helping him to sit. 

“Sssh,” Coulson said, brushing tears off of Tony’s face. Tony hadn’t even realized he’d started crying. “Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to look you over and patch up any injuries. Then we’re gonna get you bathed, diapered and settled for the night. Don’t think about tomorrow for now, okay? Can you do that for me, little one?”

Tony breathed out shakily and nodded. “O-okay,” he stuttered.

“Okay. That’s my good boy. I’m so proud of you.” Coulson hugged him, running his fingers through Tony’s hair. He was probably checking for head wounds, Tony realized, but the petting felt so good that he didn’t care.

“What ‘bout Pep?” he asked, leaning more heavily into his daddy’s warmth.

“Pepper knows that something went wrong on your business trip and that you needed me. That’s all,” Coulson said, moving on to touching Tony’s face.

That was fine. The world knew Tony Stark was a Little; that information had spilled out several years ago thanks to a doctor who broke their oath of confidentiality. Short of suing said doctor to within an inch of her life, there wasn’t much Tony could do about that. But the world didn’t know that Phil Coulson was his daddy, or that Tony Stark was Iron Man, and, along the same vein, they could _never_ know Iron Man was a Little. Two of those secrets Tony would take to his grave. The third was Coulson’s to reveal, if and when he wanted.

“Thanks, Daddy,” he mumbled, infinitely grateful for Coulson: Tony would’ve fallen apart without him.

Coulson hugged him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. His voice shook just a little when he breathed, “Anytime, baby boy. Anytime.”


	2. Chapter 2

Tony gave serious consideration to telling the Avengers the truth about his identity after the Battle of New York. They were his team, after all, and it seemed like information they should know. The only thing that stopped him from doing it was how damn busy he was immediately following the Battle. He’d been helping with the relief efforts as much as he could, both as Tony Stark and as Iron Man. Then there was Coulson; they’d still been dancing around each other at the time, but that hadn’t stopped Tony from being sick with worry.

Even after the Avengers didn’t move into the tower, and instead went their separate ways, Tony still might have told them except for one key thing. After finding out that Coulson was going to survive, Tony had gone back to the tower and ended up going through the Avenger files in more detail. He’d discovered that there was a separate file for Iron Man and Tony Stark, and that was when he’d figured out that the Avengers could never know who Iron Man was.

The file about Iron Man was technical and written similarly to the file for Rogers or Barton. The file on Tony Stark was biased as shit. The basic take-away was that SHIELD saw him as a selfish, arrogant, narcissistic asshole that couldn’t be trusted. The numerous mocking and outright negative references to his classification was the icing on top of it: in other words, a baby with a baby’s attitude trying to do the work of men.

It didn’t surprise him, exactly. Tony’d run into that attitude before. Most people thought Littles were cute, but the kind of cute that should be seen and not heard. The fact that Tony had taken over Stark Industries was bad enough. Had he been classified as an older teen, or even a younger teen, most people probably wouldn’t have scoffed too much. But someone who was classified as a baby running circles around baseline people who considered themselves to be the cream of the crop? That was just outright insulting. He’d had to fight three times as hard to get half as far as a baseline, and sometimes even that didn’t feel like it was an accurate reflection.

He didn’t want that shit associated with Iron Man. It was so much easier to slip on the armor and not have to deal with a bunch of preconceived notions. As Iron Man, he could actually get things done. He could interact with SHIELD and the Avengers without having to worry about how much he’d later be undermined. Of course, there were still some issues because Iron Man was Tony Stark’s bodyguard, but that was easy to deal with.

So he didn’t tell them. And now, seeing how things had changed, Tony was fiercely glad that he hadn’t. He could only imagine what a shitshow this whole situation would’ve been if the Avengers had known that he was Iron Man. Rogers had actually considered signing the Accords when Iron Man presented them to him; things had gone sideways then, but maybe he would be willing to listen again.

Iron Man found the bunker in Siberia without too much trouble. He crept inside, heart pounding in his ears, and found his way to where Rogers and Barnes were. The sight of them made the hair rise on the back of his neck. He could tell that something wasn’t right here. After Iron Man got the location out of Sam Wilson, Coulson hadn’t wanted him to come. He’d wanted to send SHIELD agents in instead. Their compromise had been Iron Man coming in alone, with SHIELD waiting outside.

For the first time, Tony thought that maybe he should’ve listened.

He watched the video like it was happening from a distance. Watched his father recognize the Winter Soldier as Sergeant Barnes and then die at his hands. Watched his mother beg for help and then be strangled to death. He wasn’t even fully aware of what he was doing when he lunged at Barnes. It was like he’d taken leave of his senses and his purpose in life narrowed down to making his parent’s murderer pay.

But then there was Rogers. Tony couldn’t have forgotten him either. The man who’d known. The man who’d looked into Tony’s eyes every time they met and not said a word. The man who’d used Tony’s money and friendship to pave the way to finding said murderer. It _hurt_. He’d never really thought he and Rogers were friends, but Rogers had been _Iron Man’s_ friend. That, he saw now, was a mistake.

“Iron Man, stop!” Rogers bellowed. “Why are you reacting like this?”

“He killed the Starks!” Tony screamed. Red flickered across the HUD as Rogers grabbed the armor and threw it down. Before he could get up, Rogers knelt over him and grabbed the shield. Tony scrabbled, genuinely frightened for the first time, as Rogers started bashing the helmet. The faceplate creaked and then, with a squeal of gold alloy, snapped and broke off.

Rogers froze. “Tony?” he said, momentarily thrown off.

Shit. Tony glared up at him. “He killed my parents,” he said, soft and dangerous. He shifted, trying to determine if there was enough leverage to get Rogers off of him. It was the wrong move. 

Apparently interpreting the movement as a threat, Rogers didn’t hesitate to lift the shield and bring it down hard onto the arc reactor that powered the suit. Tony jolted at the impact, breath catching in his throat as the armor ground to a halt. He stared down at the shield, eyes wide. It stuck out of the armor even when Rogers took his hands off it, ground in so deeply that Tony can feel pain and numbness in his compromised chest.

“Why didn’t you tell us? We were a team. We should have known,” Rogers said, like that was what mattered. It was hard to tell whether he meant the Avengers should’ve known they were fighting with Tony Stark or fighting alongside a Little. Frankly, Tony was more focused on how accusatory Rogers sounded.

Around the panic that was turning his fingers to ice, Tony spit out, “Are you really going to be a complete hypocrite and tell me off about _keeping secrets_ right now? Seriously?”

“I didn’t know you were Iron Man!”

“You still knew me!” Tony shouted. “For fuck’s sake, Rogers. I got you all your stuff back from the museum. I gave you a fucking motorcycle! Don’t sit there and pretend like you never had a goddamn opportunity to open your mouth and tell me the truth.”

Rogers’s mouth tightened into a thin line. He stood with effortless grace even after their battle and reached down, gripping the shield. The titanium gold alloy screeched as Rogers yanked the shield free. It made Tony feel sick to look up at Captain America, shield on his arm, and know that he never meant anything. What difference did it make if he was Tony Stark or Iron Man? Captain America had never cared about either one. 

“You should have told us,” Rogers said stiffly. “I didn’t know you were a Little.”

There were so many ways to take that and every one was so insulting that Tony couldn’t stand it. “You didn’t deserve to know,” he hissed, because it was the truth, and if there was one thing about this that Tony regretted it was that he couldn’t erase the knowledge from Rogers’s mind now.

“Steve,” Barnes said, across the room. “Steve, let’s go.”

The look that Rogers cast down at Tony was full of contempt mingled with disapproval. Not an ounce of regret. Rogers turned away, walking over to gently grip Barnes by the arm and help him to stand. Tony stared at them, aching with the desire to get the last word in. He hadn’t won, he _couldn’t_ win now, but it wasn’t fair to let them walk out either. So he opened his mouth –

“Freeze. Don’t move another step.”

Oh. Tony snapped his mouth shut and realized that he’d somehow managed to forget that one of the compromises for him coming in here was that he allow Coulson to have access to the view from the HUD. Coulson would have seen everything: the video, the fight, the moment when Tony lost. He would’ve lost the feed when the arc reactor was destroyed. Of course he’d come in, gun in hand, to figure out what had happened.

“Coulson?” Rogers sounds shocked. All Tony can see is his back, but he’s pretty sure Rogers is starting to smile. “We thought you were dead!”

“Rumors are always exaggerated,” Coulson said, taking a step forward out of the shadows. To anyone who didn’t know him well, he wouldn’t have looked out of sorts. But Tony could see the lines at the corners of his eyes, the subtle shake of his left hand. He’d scared his daddy _big time_.

“So it seems. I’m glad you’re here. Maybe you can help us straighten out this mess,” Rogers said, taking another step forward.

“I said freeze!” Coulson barked. “Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, you are both under arrest.”

“W-what?” Rogers stammered. “Coulson, it’s me. Captain America. What are you –” He broke off suddenly as more figures began emerging from the shadows. They were surrounded, Tony realized with a quick glance around. More than that, he recognized more than half these agents. Most of them were like Maria Hill, employed partially by Stark Industries and partially by SHIELD. He’d saved all of them, even Coulson, when Romanov and Rogers dumped the SHIELD files onto the internet.

“I’m encouraging you to stand down. We will not hesitate to subdue you if necessary,” Coulson said in a steely tone.

“This is crazy. Really –” Rogers made a mistake then. He took another step.

Two small canisters rolled into the middle of the room. The thin, familiar hiss made Tony wince. In a coordinated movement that had clearly been practiced, all of the agents sealed gas masks over their lower faces. He nearly jumped out of his skin when someone knelt behind him and slid their hand over his mouth; before he could do much more than gasp in panic, the hand moved away and left a clear gas mask over the lower portion of his face.

“What – what are you – Bucky run!” Rogers shoved Barnes to the left, but the gas was rising quickly. Barnes stumbled, eyes half-lidded, and collapsed on the spot. Rogers stooped down, trying to pick him up, but that put his face closer to the gas. He folded over, passing out on top of Barnes.

“Put them in cuffs and load them on the jet. If they escape, you’re all fired,” Coulson snarled from behind his mask. “And someone deal with that prince before he escapes. He has a lot to answer for.”

Everyone burst into motion. Coulson stalked across the floor, hard expression melting into worry when he saw Tony. Embarrassingly, Tony’s eyes immediately filled with tears. He wanted nothing more than to lift his arms, but he couldn’t even manage that. The armor weighed hundreds of pounds when it was dead, and his body was already pushed the limit.

Coulson knelt beside him and touched Tony’s forehead. “It’s okay. You’re okay,” he murmured. “They can’t hurt you anymore, baby.”

“Zemo,” Tony said, leaning into the scant touch. “There’s – he’s – ”

“We got him already,” Coulson soothed, and Tony gave a gasp of relief.

“Please get me out,” he begged. Suddenly the armor felt more like a prison, but he knew Coulson would know how to boost the armor to get him free.

“I will, Tony. I just need to make sure you’re not hurt. That was a brutal fight and the armor could be holding your spine or your neck in place. We have to wait for the paramedics to come in and look you over.” Coulson wiped a smear of blood from Tony’s temple. 

“I’m fine. Please, Daddy,” Tony said; he was trying not to cry, but everything was hitting him all at once. His parents, Rogers, Barnes. It was too much. 

“As soon as I can,” Coulson said. “I promise.”


	3. Chapter 3

Pain ran through Tony's chest, pulling him out of a sound sleep. His eyes blinked open to reveal the sight of his mobile over his head. It was revolving slowly and playing a lullably. For a split second he wanted nothing more than to roll over and fall back asleep, but as soon as he tried to move he was reminded of why that was a _very_ bad idea. More pain shot through him and he whimpered, freezing in place. His muscles ached at the sudden tension but it was a hell of a lot better than feeling like he couldn't breathe because of the burning in his chest.

"Tony?" Coulson was there instantly, leaning over the side. "It's okay, I'm right here. Just breathe with me, baby. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale."

Tony focused on the sound of his voice, timing his breathing to the sound of his daddy's voice. "It hurts, Daddy," he whispered.

"I know it does. I'm going to give you something to make you feel better. Open your mouth, okay?" Coulson leaned down and slid a couple of pills into Tony's mouth, followed by the nipple of a bottle. Tony sucked automatically, closing his eyes as fresh water flooded his mouth. He swallowed the pills and drank a little more, until the parched feeling had eased. Then he turned his head away.

He remained quiet as he waited for the painkillers to take effect. The doctors had determined that Rogers had broken three of his ribs and cracked two more. Tony also had a broken right wrist, a couple of broken fingers, a severely sprained left ankle, a wrenched right knee, a cracked collarbone on his left side, a concussion, and more bruising than unmarked skin. All things considered, he knew he'd gotten off lightly. If it weren't for the armor, Rogers would have killed him. Had nearly killed him, for that matter: it wouldn't have taken much more force to drive the shield straight through Tony's skin and into his organs.

He shuddered at the thought and immediately felt a hand gently carressing his head. He leaned into the touch, tears welling up beneath his closed eyelids. They'd only just gotten back from the hospital late last night. Tony didn't even remember being put into his crib, where he'd woken up. He dreaded the thought of the long weeks ahead of him that would have to be spent recuperating. There was so much work to be done now that Captain America and the Winter Soldier were being put behind bars. How could he do all of that when he couldn't stand on his own two feet?

"Hey. Hey, you're alright," Coulson crooned affectionately. For a man who was as straightlaced in public as they came, Coulson had never hesitated to be open with his affection in private. Tony loved it. He _needed_ it. That was one of the things that had drawn him to Coulson in the first place.

"R-Rhodey?" Tony whispered, opening his eyes again. 

"He came out of surgery. The doctors say that he'll live, though they weren't sure if he'd be able to walk again," Coulson said, and Tony found himself so damn grateful that Coulson was here. Anyone else might've tried to hide the truth of that from him until Tony had healed a little more, believing him to be too fragile to handle the truth right now. Tony had just gone head-to-head with two supersoldiers and nearly won. He was not fragile. He appreciated Coulson's frankness on a level he couldn't put into words.

"Can I see him?" Tony asked.

"Not yet, sweetie. He's still in Germany. He has to stay there for a little while; it's not safe for him to travel yet, and it's not safe for you to travel either. But I promise, he's being looked over. I sent two of our agents over last night to stay with him. They'll take care of everything. And as soon as the doctors give the okay for him to be moved, we'll bring him back home."

Tony nodded, a tear sliding down his cheek. Rhodey would hate waking up somewhere unfamiliar, he knew. He remembered how Rhodey had been there after he'd been kidnapped in Afghanistan: Rhodey had staked out his hospital bed at the base and refused to move, even though the military hadn't been happy about it. Damn Rogers. If it weren't for how needlessly stubborn and stupid Steve Rogers was, Tony could've been there for Rhodey too. He hoped that Coulson had sent people that Rhodey knew, so that Rhodey would at least see some familiar, friendly faces when he finally woke up.

As though hearing Tony’s thoughts, Coulson wiped the tear away and murmured, “Maria is still there, and so are a couple people that I trust. He won’t be alone, Tony, I promise. His parents are flying over too.”

“Thank you,” Tony whispered. Thank god for Coulson. He didn’t know what would’ve happened otherwise. “And… Rogers?”

“He’s still in custody. So is Barnes. You don’t have to worry, Baby. They’re never going to touch you again.”

He’d never get tired of hearing that. “Can I get up for a while?”

“Of course. Just let me change your diaper first, okay?” Coulson reached for the bars and unlocked them, lowering the end of the crib. Tony closed his eyes, grimacing as Coulson gently nudged his thighs apart to reach his diaper. But at least he was used to a diaper, and they were infinitely more comfortable and less embarrassing than a nurse trying to help him use a bed pan. Plus, the painkillers had kicked in and that helped to dull the worst of the pain into something more manageable.

When Coulson was finished, he snapped the crotch of the onesie shut and straightened, wiping his hands. “How about we move out to the living room? You can have a bottle and something to eat. The doctor said you would feel better if you eat when you take your pills.”

Tony just nodded and tried not to tense up as an Iron Man armor walked into the room. It was being piloted by FRIDAY, he knew. Coulson could probably lift Tony if he needed to, but that would put a lot of strain on his chest. The armor, on the other hand, could lift Tony easily. And FRIDAY was getting a lot better at being gentle. The armor stepped closer and carefully slid two arms beneath Tony, one under his knees and the other around his back.

“Carefully, FRIDAY,” Coulson said, hovering over the armor’s shoulder.

The armor lifted him and Tony bit back a whimper of pain. It always hurt to be moved when he was injured like this, but there was only so long that he could lay in his crib and stare at the same four walls without feeling like he was going stir crazy. The metal of the armor’s arms dug into his back and knees painfully, and he made a mental note to work on an armor that had some kind of padding. This wasn’t very comfortable.

Fortunately, they didn’t go far. The Iron Man armor carried him into the living room and set him down on the couch. Tony gasped for breath, taking a moment to deal with the renewed pain swirling around his body. Despite the pain, he opened his eyes and shot the armor a thankful smile. Whereas JARVIS would’ve been used to this, FRIDAY was only just learning and he wanted to encourage her.

“Thanks, FRI,” he rasped.

“My pleasure, Boss,” FRIDAY responded. “Agent, you need only ask if you require something else.” The armor moved away as Coulson approached and took a seat beside Tony. He pressed the back of his hand to Tony’s cheek, then rested his palm against Tony’s forehead.

“Do you think he’ll tell anyone?” Tony asked, enjoying the cool feeling of Coulson’s hand. Sometimes he ran fevers when he was injured. It was something he was used to by now, but which still had the tendency to worry Coulson a lot. Tony typically submitted quietly to the fussing.

“Tell them what? That you’re Iron Man?” Coulson sighed. “I would hope not, but honestly I don’t know. If he does, I’ll do my best to keep the information quiet. I’ve already had our lawyers at work getting everyone involved in the case to sign an NDA when it comes to certain things. But you know Rogers. It’s hard to anticipate how his brain works sometimes. He could get the word out to people who won’t be so easy to contain.”

“I hope not,” Tony whispered, closing his eyes and shivering. 

“If he does, Tony, then you don’t have to worry about it. You’re not alone. You’ve got me, Pepper, Happy, Rhodey, and Maria supporting you. We’ll handle it together,” Coulson promised. “I promise.” His hand left Tony’s brow, and then a warm blanket was being tucked around him. It felt so nice. He loved being pampered.

He dozed for a little while, finding that he slept better when he was sitting upright as opposed to when he was flat on his back in his crib, and only woke when his daddy sat beside him again. He opened sleepy eyes and saw that Coulson was holding a bottle of warm milk. Tony parted his lips automatically, finding that he was more hungry than he would’ve guessed.

“There’s my good, sweet boy,” Coulson cooed, running careful fingers through Tony’s hair. He held the bottle, angling it so that Tony didn’t have to strain his neck to drink. Tony sucked slowly, enjoying the taste of milk flavored lightly with honey.

He drank half the bottle before Coulson stopped him and set the bottle on the coffee table, picking up the plate of dry crackers that was sitting there. He broke a piece off a cracker and gently slid it into Tony’s mouth. Tony sucked at it until it was nothing more than mush in his mouth, then swallowed. Coulson continued to feed him until Tony had eaten half a dozen crackers. 

“Wan’ more,” Tony whined when Coulson set the plate back down.

“I want to give your tummy a chance to absorb what you’ve had,” Coulson said. “Why don’t we watch some television?”

Tony frowned as his daddy leaned over and picked up the remote, turning the channel to some cartoons. He watched the screen half-heartedly, feeling sleepiness creeping back up on him. He yawned, sliding his thumb into his mouth, and leaned his head against Coulson’s shoulder as best he could. It was hard when leaning over too much made his midsection _ache_ , but he wanted to curl up against Coulson more than he cared about the pain.

“Here, come here.” Coulson grabbed a couple of pillows and leaned back against the couch. He set the pillows in a strategic place, then carefully wrapped an arm around Tony’s waist, helping him to shift down until Tony’s head was resting against a pillow and the arm of the couch. His chest was supported by another pillow and Coulson’s lap. Then Coulson pulled a blanket over him.

“Not sleepy, Daddy,” Tony said through another yawn.

“I can tell,” Coulson said, chuckling. “Why don’t you just close your eyes for me, though?”

Tony grumbled a little but obeyed as a hand began to stroke his hair again, sending a wave of peace through him. Far and above the best thing about having Coulson as his daddy was the knowledge that Coulson would take care of everything. It was a blessing to be able to fall asleep and know that the world wouldn’t fall apart in his absence; he didn’t have to scramble around trying to figure out what to do about Rogers and Barnes and Rhodey because Couslon already had it covered.

He didn’t have to think about how Rogers’s betrayal, and how conflicted he was because part of him still wanted to rescue Rogers even as another part of him wanted Rogers to go to jail. He didn’t have to think about Barnes, and how his hands had killed Tony’s parents but it wasn’t his fault. He didn’t have to think about T’Challa, who had decided that his desires trumped the law. For once, it didn’t have to be Tony’s problem.

He let out a contented sigh and snuggled a bit closer, ignoring the pain that ran through him. It was worth it. He was so grateful that his daddy was here so that he didn’t have to face this alone.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](http://tsuki-chibi.tumblr.com/).


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